How to use "Next Action" concept for GTD

michael.b.darby says:

Hello. I am curious how people implement the next action concept from GTD.

Currently, I create new projects by defining a task which I maintain in a separate list. I add a tag starting with "+" or "-" for work / personal projects. I then create various actions associated with that task, assigning a context (e.g. @Home) and priorities.

I do not currently designate one as "Next Action." Should I do that, or is it OK to have all identified steps showing up? Should I create another tag "next_action" and apply it to one of the steps, then apply it to the next step once I've completed the first? Or should I use priorities, with only the next action having a priority?

Thanks for any advice on what works for you all.

Posted at 6:47pm on May 7, 2013

andrewski (Remember The Milk) says:

Hi michael.b.darby,In addition to what others may have to say, I just wanted to point out that in the guest GTD post on our blog, Doug Ireton suggests tagging tasks with 'na'. If you're using the rest of his system, that may be a good complement.

Priorities are another pretty popular way too though. :) Hope this helps!

Posted 2 years ago

michael.b.darby says:

Thanks, this is helpful. I will use the daily lists for actions that don't really require projects, since currently I sometimes make up catch-all projects just so everything has a tag. I'll also try using "na" tags. I think his definition of a next action is anything without dependencies was very helpful to me.

My understanding was that one should have 50-100 projects. That seems like a lot of lists. I think I will stick with my current approach of having lists for projects that capture the project goal statements.

Posted 2 years ago

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